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Rumpole of the Bailey Season 5 Episodes
Season 5 Episode Guide
6 Episodes 1988 - 1988
Episode 1
Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation
52 mins
Despite his distaste for civil suits, Rumpole agrees to defend a notorious tabloid in a libel suit. A best-selling novelist of historical romances, who counts Hilda and the presiding judge among her fans, is outraged when her puritanical public image is besmirched by the paper's accusations of sexual promiscuity. To complicate matters, when Erskine-Brown goes to a topless bar to research a current case on Rumpole's advice, his picture appears in the same paper. The resultant fallout causes Ballard to challenge his application for membership in an exclusive club and Phyllida to throw him out of the house. The upshot of these developments brings Rumpole an unwelcome house guest.
Episode 2
Rumpole and the Barrow Boy
51 mins
Stockbroker Nigel Timson, one of the rare members of the notorious Timson clan working legitimately, is arrested on his birthday and accused of insider trading. He claims to have bought the stock in question on behalf of a mysterious old woman, but proving it proves difficult, especially when he is unable to explain a deposit of 20,000 pounds in his personal account. The situation is complicated by his relationship with his boss's daughter, with whom he is living. Rumpole, his defense counsel, is distracted by Hilda's efforts to make him a QC and accusations by Ballard that his clerk Henry is stealing.
Episode 3
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles
51 mins
Rumpole defends Hilda's nephew, a Church of England canon, who has been accused of adultery by six members of the congregation. Coincidentally the judge and prosecutor in the ecclesiastical court happen to be 'Soapy' Ballard and Erskine-Brown. The canon is charged with allegedly receiving a woman in a hotel room where he supposedly was writing a difficult sermon. When Rumpole discovers the chief witness had been paid to spy on the cleric by one of the complainants, a real estate developer, he suspects that the real motive may be greed, not moral outrage. The situation is complicated by Hilda's suspicions that Rumpole may be engaging in extra-marital activity as well.
Episode 4
Rumpole and the Tap End
51 mins
One of the Timson clan is accused by his wife of trying to drown her in their communal bath. Rumpole appeals to Featherstone's weaknesses and is able to plea bargain the domestic violence to a lesser charge. The resultant fallout from women's rights groups labels him a male chauvinist and the Lord Chancellor makes it clear that his judicial robes are in jeopardy. When Timson is brought before Featherstone again shortly thereafter on a charge of robbing a liquor store and assaulting its female manager, the judge feels undue pressure to better his standing with feminists. Rumpole is also distracted when he learns that Hilda is taking law courses with the object of joining his chambers.
Episode 5
Rumpole and Portia
51 mins
A scrap dealer unknowingly participates in a Special Branch sting operation designed to trap a known terrorist, who is killed resisting arrest. The dealer claims he didn't know the goods he was trafficking in included arms and asks Rumpole to defend him. As there is no one able to look after his only son, to whom he is devoted, Rumpole feels an emotional attachment to the case. Phyllida is also suffering from separation anxiety too as Erskine-Brown wants to send their son Tristan off to a boarding school. Ironically, she is assigned to preside at the trial in her newly appointed position of recorder, a type of criminal judge. When Ballard threatens to evict Uncle Tom from chambers because of his golfing in the clerks' office, Rumpole becomes indignant and threatens to resign in support of his colleague when this current case concludes.
Episode 6
Rumpole and the Quality of Life
51 mins
Rumpole defends Lady Perdita Derwent, charged with the murder of her elderly husband. Meanwhile, Ms Liz Probert complains of anti-gay discrimination at number 3, Equity Court, and the portly Rumpole suffers from a strict diet imposed by She Who Must Be Obeyed.
